For Ottawans spring arrives to inject a dose of life into our style world and while we cannot quite put our boots, gloves and coats away we can bring spring’s fresh look to our tablescape.
Start by scouring cupboards for nature inspired dishes. Flowers, leaves, birds, and butterflies all add the right dose of spring’s muse to set a table for the changing season. It’s surprising what we have collecting in our dish cupboards that just might do the trick. But if not head to HomeSense or even check out some area antique stores and flea markets. Villeroy and Boch has an entire collection of nature inspired dishes to create a whimsical entertaining stage ideal for Easter, Mother’s Day or a bridal shower brunch.
Use food as part of your display. The greens in spring asparagus, a bowl of fresh peas, or finely sliced cucumbers all call to the season and inject the right amount of fresh to any spring celebration. Of course eggs are synonymous with this season of re-growth. Devilled eggs sprinkled with paprika make delicious décor, if you can keep them around long enough!
While tulips and daffodils are the obvious flowers of choice why not buy pots of lavender to create more of a rural feeling to your table? Whole Foods Market sells them in the perfect size tin. Hit up local flower markets to pick up edible flowers like pansies that bring deeper colours to a salad bowl. Suddenly a simple bowl of greens becomes décor.
And of course sweetness with bowls of colourful candies splashed around the table can serve as décor and dessert at the same time. Find multi- coloured macarons found in Wellington Village at Macarons et Madeleines, pop further down the street to Thyme & Again for more edible spring décor or head across town to Jacobson’s.
For a day-to-day table top with spring inspirations look for colourful glass vases and fill them with pussy willows and blossom branches. Offsetting the colourful vases with branches creates a more serene setting while still bringing in springs colours.
